


May the Dread Wolf Take You

by supernovainparadise



Series: The Elf From the Primeval Thaig [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Ancient Elvhen, Angst, Platonic Relationships, Solas fucks everything up, everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 23:25:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17672129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernovainparadise/pseuds/supernovainparadise
Summary: Aether watched as his entire world fell to pieces at the hands of someone he once considered a friend.





	May the Dread Wolf Take You

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to establish Solas and Sky's past a bit. Set during the creation of the veil.

It seemed like a normal day when everything fell apart. Aether was walking some of the gardens under the hot northern sun, gathering fruits for baking from some of the trees and placing them in a basket at the crook of his arm. The familiar embrace of the fade wrapped around him, and he watched the occasional spirit drift through the gardens, paying no mind to the living that also roamed the dusty paths. Aether noticed a particularly bright apple in one of the trees and stood on his toes in order to reach it. 

Just as he plucked it from its branch, he felt a sudden shift and change in the fade around him. Someone had just used magic; very powerful magic. He glanced out; it seemed to be sourced further within the garden. Setting his basket down on a nearby bench, he made his way towards the center spring, surrounded by flowering hedges. He stepped through the marble archway and froze in his path as he beheld the gory scene.

Standing around the spring, were the Evanuris. To one side was the twins Falon'din and Dirthamen standing beside Andruil; all of whom looked fairly indifferent to what was playing out before them. Opposite of them was Sylaise, Ghilin'nain, and June, with equal expressions of horror. Standing facing the entrance on the side opposite of it was Elgar'nan, who seemed to be in a state of shock and uncertainty. Standing opposite of him, with his back to Aether was Fen'harel, the dread wolf. His fists clenched and back straight. In the water lay the corpse of the final member of the Evanuris; Mythal.

Blood stained the emerald waters of the spring, a stark contrast to the green waters of life. The metallic tang of it filled the air, overpowering the gentle blossoms. The silks Mythal was wearing spread out softly around her, her hair floating like a halo around her head. Her eyes stared up into the fade, lifeless and wide. Her chest was bloodied from the open wound torn there, though it was uncertain what had caused it. Presumably, it was the result of the magic Aether had felt earlier that had led him here to the spring. 

He stepped carefully forward to stand by Fen'harel's side. From this angle, he could see that his jaw was clenched, and tears were streaming down his face.

"Fen'harel...?" Aether asked quietly. "What's happened?"

"They... They've killed her," he whispered through his teeth. "Butchered her in cold blood."

"And the pup so diligently answers the call of his master," Andruil said, examining her fingers.

"He didn't call me," Aether said, whipping his head towards her and baring his teeth. Andruil ignored him.

"How dare you?! How dare any of you snuff out the one light in this corrupt world?!" Fen'harel said, shouting at the Evanuris.

"She was as corrupt as the rest of us." Falon'din snapped back, crossing his arms.

Aether felt another shift in the fade and glanced over at Fen'harel, who's fists now crackled with untold power. Fen'harel reached into his robes and pulled out a small orb, which he tossed up, snapping his hand open underneath. The orb grew in size, becoming a Foci about the size of Fen'harel's head. It crackled with green energy sourced directly from the fade around them. He stepped forward, the Foci floating above him. Aether felt a sudden pit of dread open in his stomach.

"Fen'harel..." he said quietly, trying to gain the attention of the Dread Wolf before he did something drastic. But he wasn't listening.

With a blast of magic powerful enough to shake the earth, Fen'harel sent every member of the Evanuris flying backward, where they fell, caught by surprise. Aether, still aware of his senses, felt the fade ripple before they did, and realized what was about to happen.

" _NO_!" He screamed, just as the fade shot backward, dragging the Evanuris with it. The earth beneath his feet shook, and he felt his body shudder as his magic was weakened by the sudden loss of the presence that had provided it power. 

He fell to his knees, his vision blurring, but he did not lose consciousness. Around him, he heard the wails and screams of the rest of the elves as the fade was pulled away. He heard crashing and explosions as Skyhold began to fall apart as the magic that had sustained it was removed. He watched as the colors that were so bright and prevalent began to fade and darken. Watched as the flowers of the garden wilted and the green waters turned entirely red from blood.

It felt like an eternity had passed before Aether was able to stand again, and when he did he turned to behold the world that now lay before him. The great crystal spires and strong stone towers that had made up Skyhold had collapsed, and the garden around him was completely dead. He could hear distant wailing, and the air was completely still, as though the very wind had been stolen from it.

Still shaking and reeling from the sudden mass destruction, he turned to see Fen'harel hunched over, breathing heavily.

"What did you do?" Aether whispered, his voice carrying softly around the space.

"I've locked them away," Fen'harel said, standing up and turning to face Aether. His skin was covered in soot, and his hair had fallen so that it covered part of his face.

"At what cost?" Aether asked, his voice trembling with anger as he spread his arms out to indicate the land around them, once full of life and color, now dead and desolate. "Tell me, dread wolf, was it worth this?"

"I... I do not know." Fen'harel said, looking around at the destruction around them.

"You do not know?" Aether's voice began to rise, his hands shaking with a sudden sharp rage. "I hope this is what you wanted because this is what you have done. You have destroyed everything; thousands of years of progress and work and you destroyed it. For what? Revenge?"

Fen'harel turned and looked Aether in the eye. "Their reign of terror had to end."

"Then perhaps the solution would have been to simply kill them, rather than trapping them in the fade and subsequentially locking it away. But you couldn't have that, could you? You need them as much as they need you; you need an enemy so you could continue to play the hero." Aether snapped, stepping forward, scowling at Fen'harel.

"Aether I-"

"No. You no longer get to address me in any form." Aether said, turning away from the man he thought he knew; thought was worthy of his respect.

"Aether please, I can make this right," Fen'harel begged.

"There is no second chance here," Aether said, looking up at a sky that was now dropping ash over the ruins of the empire.

"Where will you go?" Fen'harel asked.

"Away, somewhere safe where I can sleep. I see no purpose of continuing in a broken world." Aether held a hand up to the sky letting the ash settle in the cup of his palm. Letting his hand fall, Aether turned to look the Dread Wolf in the eyes. "Fen'harel ma halam... Solas."

With no other words, Aether stepped past him and began to move away from the wreckage of Arlathan and into the desolate new world, blanketed in ash.


End file.
